Lost in the cloud? File sharing service HomePipe raises $1.1M

Sometimes you just want to access your digital files — whether music, photos or documents — wherever you go. That’s the promise of HomePipe Networks, a 2-year-old Seattle startup that today is announcing $1.1 million in angel financing. Founded by former Aventail CTO Chris Hopen, HomePipe is a free service that allows users to securely pull files off their home computer.

To some degree, HomePipe reminds me a bit of the new Unifi offering from RealNetworks. But Hopen tells GeekWire that Unifi — which has yet to launch publicly — is more closely aligned with Web-based storage services that allows users to sync information in the cloud for a price.

“We are not another cloud storage play or a knockoff of box.net or dropbox.com – just the opposite,” he says. “HomePipe’s free service revolutionizes your ability to quickly, easily and securely access and share digital files — any size high resolution photos, music libraries, videos, presentations and documents — stored on a home or work computer – from any web browser or mobile device – without spending more money on storage, multiple hours uploading, organizing or syncing in the cloud.”

HomePipe currently has more than 100,000 users, and it hopes to accelerate that growth with the new capital. It also is adding some horsepower to the team, with Doug Wheeler, formerly of Scout Analytics and most recently DocuSign, joining as chief marketing officer.

Total funding now stands at $1.5 million, and Hopen expects the company to end the year at about 15 to 20 employees. The latest investment was led by Mark DiSalle, the founder and chairman of Scout Analytics.

“The HomePipe service is unique. It elegantly solves a real problem that millions of us have today – how to easily and securely access and share our pictures, videos and documents across multiple devices anywhere, anytime without spending hours uploading to a cloud service or syncing and copying it all over the place,“ DiSalle said in a release.

John Cook is co-founder of GeekWire, a technology news site based in Seattle. Follow on Twitter @geekwirenews.

John Cook is GeekWire's co-founder and editor, a veteran reporter and the longest-serving journalist on the Pacific Northwest tech startup beat. Follow him @johnhcook and email john@geekwire.com.